Local nonprofits are offering free help to students and families filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid or FAFSA, after more than 450 federal workers who worked on the application were fired.
These employees used to interact with students and families over the phone, online, and over email.
Lift Orlando and Elevation Scholars volunteers will help students fill out the FAFSA form at Orange Center Elementary in Orlando this week, with more sessions offered in the Orange County district this fall.
Most of these sessions will be held in conjunction with Title I schools like Jones, Colonial, and Evans high school that already host Financial Aid nights.
Gaslande Fleurimont is with Elevation Scholars. She’s expecting to field a lot of questions from families with mixed immigration status this year.
There’s a section on the form that asks about a student’s immigration status, something that might keep a lot of families from applying this year, she said.
“If we are working with students and family that don't feel comfortable or confident moving on with the FAFSA. We plan to share with them other resources and ways to receive financial assistance to go to college,” Fleurimont said.
Fleurimont said this question alone might keep a lot of students from immigrant families from applying for college aid this year. That’s compounded by the fact that undocumented students in Florida now have to pay out-of-state tuition to go to college.
“There's a lot of fear around the idea that there's now this database or this list of students whose parents don't have socials,” Fleurimont said, referring to Social Security numbers
This fear is very real, experts say. Orange County Schools announced earlier this year that they’ve lost 3,000 K-12 students alone from the district, as families keep students home instead of sending them to school amidst increased immigration enforcement in the state.
Last year, the majority of students who didn’t fill out the FAFSA form were not dissuaded because of the immigration status question. But they simply didn’t think they would qualify for aid, according to the National College Attainment Network. Many of them were eligible.
“For many of our students from low-income backgrounds or high-needs backgrounds, discussing things like finances, taxes, that's very uncommon. So now, when you're being prompted to fill out an application requesting that type of information, it creates a lot of fear, and with fear that comes with hesitancy and that ultimately will lead to students not even applying at all,” Fleurimont said.
According to the National College Attainment Network, only about half of Florida students completed the FAFSA application last year. Florida ranks 35th nationally in FAFSA completion rates.
In a statement, the Florida College Access Network or FCAN says community-driven efforts to improve these rates are needed now more than ever as current high schoolers face unprecedented inflation and other barriers to college success.
“While Florida boasts low public college tuition, additional costs such as housing, transportation, food, and childcare create real financial barriers,” according to the statement.
FCAN has launched its yearly FAFSA challenge to encourage districts and community partners to help more high schoolers complete the application. Top performing students and schools in the challenge stand to earn different statewide recognitions.
Last session, the Florida Legislature passed a law, HB 1255, that will require students to learn about filling out the FAFSA form in their high school financial literacy classes. But it’s not a statewide requirement for current seniors in Florida.
This week’s free FAFSA event will be held on Oct. 8 from 4-8 p.m. at Orange Center Elementary School.
If attending, please bring:
- Student & parent FSA IDs (or be ready to create them)
- 2024 tax returns, W-2s, and records of income
- Social Security numbers or Alien Registration numbers (if applicable)
- A charged laptop or tablet (They will have limited extra laptops to loan.)
